Play mat



G. J. BROWN Aug. 16, 1949.

PLAY MAT Filed Jan. 51, 1947 INVENTOR.

' GUY J. BROWN QM,M,M+M

Attorneys Patented Aug. 16, 1949 'PLAY- MAT 3 Guy J; Brown, Chicago, 111., as'sig n or of one-half it to Irvin-E. Behrend, Chicago, IlL j Application January 31, 1947, Serial No. 725,665 v This invention relates to play mats or pads and more particularly to a play mat or pad for children adapted to be spread out flat on a floor or 1 Claim. 1(01. 150-11) 1' other like surface and having means. by which it may be drawn up into the form of a storage bag for children's playthings.

Heretofore, play mats or pads have be'enide- 1 vised and used which were adapted to be spread out on the floor of a room or on the floor of a play pen in order to provide a sanitary area for a childs play and a protective covering for the floor carpeting or rugs.

These mats orpads for the most part comprised fabric material which was washable and enabled the pads to be .foldedup when not in use. Before the pads or mats were in condition for folding, however, it was necesi sary to remove all the toys and other plaything's with which the child hadbeen playing and'to Y then place the toys or playthings in their proper containers. Similarly, whenit was desired to restore the play area for the child, it was first necessary to unfold the mat and then locatethef containers of the respective vplaythings, remove them from the containers and place them on the mat with the child. Such aprocedure was not only time consuming, but it also entailed consid-' ,1

erable stoopingand other physical efiort. Also,

many of the playthings lacked the properstor-f age containers and consequently they were placed in any temporarily convenient place or places giving a room an untidy appearance and tending to scatter the playthings.

It is, therefore, an object of the presentinven-' tion to provide an improved play mat or pad for children.

Another object of the invention is to provide a play mat for children adapted to be spread out flat on a floor or other likesurface and having means by which the mat may be drawn up into the form of a storage bag in which playthings may be transported or stored when not in use. 7

Still another object of the invention is to provide a childs play mat havin a'bottom surface adapted to engage a floor or other flat surface, an upper surface upon which a child may play andupon which playthings may be supported out of contact with the floor and means for drawing the outer portions of the mat inwardly to form a storage bag in which playthings may be transported or stored when not-in use, the drawing means comprising a draw cord and cord engagingmeans positioned in spaced relation on the bottom surface of said mat and being inaccessible to the child playing on the top surface thereof.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as this description progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1; is a top plan view of the play mat comf prising a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 isaperspective view of one of the tabs 7 and rings comprisingthe'cord engagin means 7 secured on the bottom'surface of the mat; and Fig. 4 isa perspective view illustrating the mat as it appearswhen drawn up in the form of a storage bag with a childsplaythings therein.

The play mator padll] shown in'the drawing ,may be'comprised of a sheet of fabric or other 'flexiblematerial that is washable and suitable forthe intended purposes of the invention. The

mat may be composed of one single thickness of heavy cotton twill or may be quilted in the form of a pad having a thin layer of paddingmaterial between two sheets of fabric. The mat I0 is illustrated in ,the drawing as being of square design'but it is to be understood that it may also be' circular or in other desired outlines. It is adapted tobe spread out flat indoors on a floor of a room or on the floorof a play pen, or even used outdoors on the grass or on the sand at the beach.

The .bottom surface H of the mat, shown in Fig. 2 ofthe drawing, is adapted to be placed in,

engagement with the surface upon which it is laid out, and the top surface I2, shownin Fig.1, is adapted to provide the play area for a child and to support a childs playthings, The top surface I2 maybe printed, painted or otherwise decorated withvarious symbols, letters, animals and other objects or insignia attractive to'children, but for the purposes of the present description the top surface I 2 has been shown as decorated with concentric circular lines l9 and 20within which are. illustrated a plurality of blocks 2| bearing certain letters of the alphabet. It is to be understood that the upper surface I 2 of the mat I0 has nothing projecting upwardly therefrom so that it is free and unobstructed, and presents no engaging elements or projectionsrwhich would become entangled with a child's garments or toys or which would trip the child oranadult in wal-k- 5 ing thereoverl 7 As shown more particularly in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the bottom surface ll of the mat I0 is provided witha plurality of flexible fabric tabs [3 l which may be secured to the mat by stitching (not shown) at their outer ends I 4 only so that their inner ends are free for limited movement relative to the under surface II. The tabs I12 ing secured to the mat a short distance from the marginal edges thereof. Each of the looped tabs l3 loosely engage and support a fiat rin l6 which may be composed of metal, plasticror other material of strengthsilifi'cient to withst'and the stresses and strains of the cord when tlie mat is opened or closed.

A draw cord [1 passes throu each of the rings tablishing the approximate position of the draw cord and cord engaging means concealed below on the lower surface ll. Thus, as shown in Fig. 1, the circular decorative lines I9 and also serve the additional purposes of indicating the approximate location of the rings I6, the draw cord I1, and the tabs l3 and define the central area intowhich the scattered playthings must be placed prior to drawing up the mat; H

When it is desired to restore the play area for the child, the bag of toys may be removed from its storage position, placed in the desired loca- I6 and its free ends are tied or spliced together 'i-"tionand quickly opened by pulling it apart at as at I8 so as to form an endless 9 1i; 'Th 3 its top opening 22. I The outer portions of the I1 is of such len th hat th fl il' 'ia be 1 1'5 mat' l'u thenarepulledoutwardly to their fullest ope d o its fullest extent a pre "cl n at ext'eiit'u'ntii thmat is in smooth, flat condition, without causing y i br awing o the cord 11 freely slipping through the rings I6 as material and Without causing the rin s 5, tube the spacetherebetween is increased and the playdrawn out Of t eir fiat position so as to 'z'aus""' things the central area being made available bulges and irregularities in the mat. I th 20 to the child in the same operation. sarrie* ti rne "the cordjl'l ote sue i d i e'j; Although" jtnere' hasbeen illustrated in the length asto extend pey ndftne'ma edgej drawing fend" described "above preferred"emof the mat ill, hen themat is openpositiqnfi' bodiment of the invention, it is to be understood whet" ti w l l Qe i 5391 1 p ely that 'rno dii-lcations and changes may'be'ma'de in to become entangled" wit ys or the chil fs details of structure and operation-without de clot i o to trip ,anyoneowa kies a t ma -i parting from the spirit and sco e or the append-"- y t f r goin arah fm fi 1 th part 2h ed oiaimf totsjla 'thsri gs Itandith fii w.PQl .1 Iclaim: s all concealed in 119,1 lg n'd 'qi b 'HnQ F Qj i A play r'nat adapted to tie-spread out flaton t? of t ema li a1t,1-p0in jemb i d, fi'Q a fl or? or other horizontal surfaceconiprising o i ma n edges e i: "Th a ef i j Q sheet or flexible material having a" bottom' surface' only eliminated as hazardsand' ruiisa 81s adaptedto engagea floor or other horizontal-sun above described u the ihee h jandan upper surface u on which a child lfibn or dama 31,3 ld, is materie yre g may playj and upon which playthingemaybe duct-ed!" m t e-b5: I1 3, rings 6 an mfr supported out of contact'withthe'fioonan'dmeans- 1 arepjaused 1 assume flei e l iordraw the outer ortionsoi said shes-gen 'De' ShQW L TF LZ Q a 1. 0pm; wardlypver playthingson'the central portion of j lw h e Q sQi h "T h w 10nthejjupper surface "comprising an endless draw t e" uppe r ac ,2 o t e agi??? cord; aiplura it foi 'fiexible'tabssecured in spaced After, a child h compl ed 1 19 3. E d}? 5114 relatio'iiion the bottom'surfac e of said sheet a re 0 P W Y the A i 5 1 l short-"distance from the marginal edgesth ereof andfextending inwardly therefromwhereby'to'be inaccessibe ffroin the upper surface of said sheet" whenfthelatter isfin flat fo'pe'ri"positioniand' a ringj secured'to' the inner end breach of said tabsl'a nd through whichsaid cord extends for movement: threthrough; said ,dr'atv cord being of sumoie it eogtnt extend from ar ne t the .other' when" said sheet" is in fiat open" position i without wrinkling said sheet; and to holdsaid rings'and tabs in their i iwat rpositions'to ,prevent their. projection beyond the marginal edges of said sheet.-

GUY Bft dwfii RfiFtlRisNiis" errier) m mthegmatiwith f i t The' follo'wing references areofrecord in the spilled out o thefio r;th g oi theplay-" file Ofthis p ents Y I 7 things, tending to 'hol'ddown the cjentral poiitntc'- Ejj-TAfijS PA N- c during'jthe drawing action.""Afte'r" themati is" v completely i draw'n, up with sallj' the; pla NuPlber 1 a Name 7 D t therein, it may 'be'picked'up-and plate -a 0553611 h e 4, 1 8 an obscure'corner ,or hung on a m r in C 791,677, Dowling Juned, 19051 It i s apparent thatfthe foregoingbr e 2 7,570 Jackson et"al. Deg 4; 1905:, t l g away the mat-10 andthgtoysvmayf 1, 83 ,678 Kitterinan et a1; Sept-. i1; 1928 readily and easily accomplished'With the 'expendi- 2,144,435? Duffy i 17; 1939 ture of Very little efiortandin a veryiifiew sec- FORliiIGN PA'IEN TS onds." As afurther aid to putting awaythetoys' a dit at t eupiae'r"sm ateizo he 'i at- F g-h Qq Date maybe'providdwith"some indicatirig"inans eS 0920 France 1908 

